“I feel like they stopped their search and just gave up,” said the sister of Ralphelle Howard
Credit: Family Handout
NEED TO KNOW
- The body of Ralphelle Howard was found a day after the car she was in plunged into the Little Calumet River in Chicago on Sept. 9
- Three friends of Howard went into the water and found her body themselves after authorities allegedly paused the search because it was too dark
- Her family also said a guardrail that might have saved her life was damaged
In the wake of the death of missing 26-year-old Ralphelle Howard, whose body was found after the car she was traveling in plunged into a Chicago river, her family and loved ones have questions about authorities’ search for her and the roadway’s condition.
“We can’t sit around and wait for answers. Sometimes you just gotta go in,” Kmauri Burnett, one of Howard’s three friends who went into the water and found her body in less than a minute, told Fox affiliate WFLD in an interview published on Thursday, Sept. 10.
In a statement previously obtained by PEOPLE, the Chicago Police Department said the crash occurred around 2:31 a.m. local time on Tuesday, Sept. 8, in the 13000 block of South Indiana Avenue.
“A Chevrolet Trailblazer, with five adult occupants, was traveling westbound at the above location when the driver lost control and went into the water,” police said, confirming that the driver had later been issued a citation for failure to reduce speed.
At the time, police didn’t name the victims, but local outlets identified them as Howard and Trumayne Sanders, 24.
Howard was in the vehicle with four others when the driver lost control and crashed through a barrier into the Little Calumet River, CBS affiliate WBBM reported.
Chicago police confirmed to PEOPLE that the body of a 26-year-old female was pulled from the river in the area at approximately 10:48 a.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 9.
Authorities added that the female was taken to Roseland Hospital, where she was pronounced dead. They confirmed that Area Detectives were investigating the case.
Howard’s discovery came after Sanders was extricated from the car after the crash. He was rushed to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead, per NBC affiliate WMAQ.
Three others, including the 24-year-old male driver, survived the incident, Chicago police told PEOPLE in a statement. They were not identified.
Brianna Cummings, Howard’s sister, recalled that authorities had told the family that the search was paused because it was too dark.
“I feel like they stopped their search and just gave up,” Cummings told WFLD.
That was when Burnett and two others decided to enter the water. Burnett said they located Howard’s body next to the SUV. The fact that the three friends found the body so quickly prompted questions from Cummings and her family.
“She was right there where they pulled the car,” said Cummings, per WFLD. “Y’all didn’t see her? Y’all didn’t look?”
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The family also said a broken guardrail was in the vicinity of the crash site and that the city should have done something about it.
“I feel like if the railing was fixed it would have just been a car crash — she would have still been here with us,” Cummings said.
The family called for more railings, lighting and signs for that area, per WFLD.
In an email to PEOPLE on Friday, Sept. 11, the Chicago Police Department said there have been no new updates in the case and Area Two detectives are investigating.
PEOPLE contacted the mayor’s office, but did not receive an immediate response.
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